ANAAPOTHEOSIS
ana·a·poth·e·o·sis (aná-əˌpäTHēˈōsəs/) noun. Derived from the Greek prefix "ana", meaning backward or against, and "apotheosis", from apotheoun "to deify", and referring to the raising of an individual to divinity, or to divine status, through glorification or enlightenment.
As in, "I am in general against enlightenment, because it clouds one's true place in the world as a human. I guess you could say I am against apotheosis. I am a proponent of Anaapotheosis."
I coined this term several months ago, and named a track on the 391 & the Army of Astraea Gauntlet of Balthazar Electronic Music of the Day Give-Away program, but never did a My Dictionary; Word of the Day post for it, so the above definition solves that.
Mega-Post Part II: The Related Polemic
As far as my beliefs have evolved over the years, being highly contrarian and polytheist-inclined, I have come to believe that all forms of Utopianism and Messianism are mere distractions designed by the powers that be to supply people with false hope that the world is fixable. The catch is of course that people accept the conditioning that the world is indeed broken first. Religious people (of all religions) often cite the evidence that war, famine, disease, and even death are ways in which the the proof of the "broken" quality of life on earth can be viscerally displayed. To shift the onus from a loving, universal God, some faiths rely on Devils and Demons to burden the responsibility for evil. Thus sparing both God and mankind the burden of responsibility for their actions.
Regardless, the realization often follows that the problems which plague the world are so grand in scale, so vast and immense, that there can be no changing them through mere micro-cosmic acts of world fixing, such as "good deeds", which are nonetheless encouraged by most of the global faiths. The ultimate extension of these attempts is epitomized by the Christian act of Baptism, which designs to cut off the root problem at its source, the soul. But as with all of these "fixes", it fails miserably at correcting what is perceived as the root spiritual cause of the issue, man's very nature, and leaves the world with its myriad problems and terrors intact. In my opinion, man's soul is eternally un-alterable, and is designed to be that way by forces that are inborn and incomprehensible to most earthlings. So, sorry Christians. Nice try.
In the end the solution usually manifests far more convoluted historical outlook combining complex metaphysical thinking and wrangling dogma to promote the believers reliance on a global supernatural incursion set in the future which will fix the world in "overhaul fashion". It is intended as a reshaping of life rather than a means to address our own failings as a species, and usually singles out those who are already enlightened (the minority, but everyone is encouraged to feel they are a part of this tiny group) from the rest (the majority - 99.9999999999% of us). This eschatological leaning has for the most part been the causal factor that has led the great religions to devise the concept of "end times', as well as all messiahs, the Mahdi, the wheel of life, etc. This psychology has also shifted form and jumped the religious wall into the political sphere. Globalism, Nationalist Fascism, and Communism likewise promise that when all of us are one, or are all Communists, in the same way that Muslims believe that when all of us are Muslim, or Christians believe when all of us are Christian, then the world will be "perfect".
But, deep down we all know that is not true. The day we all become Muslim, or Christian, or Communist, or when we have one over-arching system holding us together, that is the day that we turn to one another and the real killing starts.
I suggest the opposite. The world is not broken. It is what is, and does not require "fixing". No system or belief will fix it, and so you might as well embrace being here while you are. The Messiah is not coming, ever, and whether that Messiah is a Jewish one, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Christian, or even Shiva dancing us into destruction, whatever humans will remain will be the same as we have always been and always will be.
Am I casting off all religion? Far from it. There are many positive cultural aspects, and positive acts that almost all religions propose for their followers, and that make life just a little better than without it. Especially if you are one of those people who feel you need that sort of meaning in your life.
So, the world is not broken. You may continue attending positive change. But don't hope for any grand re-shaping - it will never happen. Stop wasting your time and energy on a fantasy. Eat a good meal, create something artistic, spend times with friends and family. Do something actual.
Mega-Post Part Three: The Related, Related Embed
To your point in paragraph 3 'In the end...', the funny part is that actually Enlightened people do not wish to be deified for the very reason you pose. If they were not human like everyone else, but somehow unearthly, then people have the excuse of being incomparable and incapable of reaching similar heights. If that were true why would these Enlightened people be teachers? Why would they waste their time and effort working so hard to teach others so that they can achieve the same happiness, deep peace, joy, and have love and compassion to give without the need of 'repayment'? Deification defeats that notion; believing yourself incapable you render yourself incapable. No, teachers have made it plain that it's not easy, but always possible.
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